D D EE C C II SS II O ON N -- M MA A KK II N NG G EE XX EE RR C C II SS EE GeoActive WIND ENERGY – THE WAY FORWARD? T HE SOURCES OF ENERGY we use in the UK have changed dramatically. Back in 1945, coal was the main fuel used in the UK. Over the next 50 years there was a dramatic change as gradually nuclear power (1950s), then North Sea natural gas (1960s) and finally North Sea oil (1970s) were used to produce our electricity. Over the last 10 years there has been an increasingly heated debate about the use of renewable energy in the UK. There are a number of reasons why this debate is happening. • Fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas are finite and our supplies are gradually running out. • Burning fossil fuels produces pollution such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) which damages people’s health. • The world’s climate appears to be getting warmer due to an increase in greenhouse gases which are partly due to burning fossil fuels (Figures 1 and 2). • Most countries, including the UK (but not the USA) signed the Kyoto Agreement which set the target for the UK of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 12.5% by 2010 (compared with the 1990 levels). The UK government has, voluntarily, increased this target to 20%. Some heat escapes through the atmosphere Sun Some heat is trapped by gases and is reflected back to the surface Incoming solar radiation Heat from the sun warms the land and sea and is re-radiated back into the atmosphere As the amount of man-made ‘greenhouse gases’ increases, so more heat is trapped leading to global warming Figure 1: Global warming • Pollution from burning fossil fuels, eg car exhausts, power stations • Increased carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide • Form invisible blanket around the atmosphere, allowing solar heat in but not allowing it to escape • Average global temperatures increasing at a rate of 1°C per 10 years • Global warming and associated consequences – higher sea-level, coastal flooding, threat to North Atlantic Current • Kyoto Agreement is trying to set quotas for fossil fuel emissions to reduce the impact Figure 2: The effects of increased greenhouse gases Alongside the fossil fuels versus renewable fuels debate is the controversy over the use of nuclear energy. One-quarter of our electricity is currently generated in nuclear power stations but many of these are nearing the end of their lives and the government has put a block on any new ones being built. In spite of the fact that nuclear energy has proved to be both safe and non-polluting in the UK, many people are nervous about its potential danger and worry about the problem – as yet unsolved – of what to do with nuclear waste from the power stations. Currently, the UK produces its electricity from a mix of energy sources (gas 37%, coal 35%, nuclear 25%, renewable energy 3%) and the main topic of discussion concerns how the UK should produce its electricity over the next 20–30 years. Unless we import fossil fuels from other countries (probably Russia or Series 18 Autumn issue Unit 361 Wind Energy – the Way Forward? © 2006 Nelson Thornes This page may be photocopied for use within the purchasing institution only. 361 Online by David Rayner Middle Eastern countries) or build new nuclear power stations, we will have to opt for a massive increase in some form of renewable energy. The favourite option is wind energy which at the moment provides just over 1% of our energy requirements (Figures 3 and 4). It provides energy to just over 1 million people. Most of the windfarms are onshore in the north and west of the country but there are two offshore windfarms (one off the North Wales coast and one off the Norfolk coast) which are now producing electricity, and many more are planned (Figure 5). The wind energy debate Wind energy has both supporters and opponents. So what are the main arguments for and against wind energy? Most of the debate revolves around the following statements. Nacelle with gearbox and generator Blade length Hub height Tower Ground level Side view Figure 3: Wind turbine GeoActive Online Page 1 of 4 • Modern wind turbines produce very little noise, even close up. • Far more birds are killed each year by motorists and cats than will ever be harmed by wind turbines. • Some people like the look of windfarms but everyone agrees that it is a matter of opinion. • The current price of electricity produced by wind energy is higher than some other fuels but the price is falling all the time. • In tourist areas where there are windfarms, tourist numbers have not declined and many windfarms have themselves become tourist attractions. Figure 4: A windfarm AGAINST • Windfarms are noisy (noise pollution). • Windfarms kill birds and frighten farm animals. • Wind turbines spoil the landscape (visual pollution). • Electricity from windfarms is expensive. • Windfarms put off tourists in popular areas. How do the pro-wind energy supporters counter the arguments of those who argue against wind energy? They argue that a great deal of misinformation has been published in newspapers and on websites. As some of this has now been proved in court cases, protest groups have to be very careful about what they claim. Recent studies have proved the following facts. • Wind turbines are active for about 35% of the time and this is enough to make them a valuable addition to other forms of energy production. The greatest amount of opposition to windfarms has come from people who live near to planned sites (such people are often referred to as ‘Not In My Back Yard’s, or NIMBYs), and in cases where windfarms are proposed near to National Parks or Areas of • Wind turbines cause electrical interference (radio, TV etc). • Windfarms cause a drop in house prices. • Windfarms are unreliable as the wind does not always blow continuously. N Key Wind farms in operation Wind farms planned FOR • Windfarms produce a clean source of energy with no pollution. • Windfarms help to reduce global warming. • Windfarms are cheap and easy to decommission at the end of their 25year life. • Windfarms create jobs in engineering, installation and maintenance. • Offshore windfarms are hardly visible from the coast. • Windfarms are popular with the general public (80% in favour). • Wind is a free and abundant resource in the UK. • Other countries, eg Denmark, already produce 20% of their electricity from windfarms. 0 100 km Figure 5: Windfarms operating and planned in the UK GeoActive Online Page 2 of 4 Series 18 Autumn issue Unit 361 Wind Energy – the Way Forward? © 2006 Nelson Thornes This page may be photocopied for use within the purchasing institution only. Case Study Baxted Moor windfarm Baxted Moor is a high, exposed moorland site located 15 km to the south of the Baxbury National Park (Figure 6). It is remote, with only one small village and two hamlets within a 5 km radius. The plan for the Baxted Moor windfarm is for 25 wind turbine generators, each with a minimum capacity of 2.5 MW. As well as turbines, the project will include several access tracks, underground electrical cabling, meteorological masts and a site substation to transfer electricity to the National Grid. The turbines would have a hub height of 70 metres and an individual blade length of 40 metres, giving a maximum total height of 110 metres. The windfarm and the associated infrastructure will take approximately 12 months to construct. During this time there will be some disturbance to local people and nearby farms. As there are already good National Grid connections nearby, there will be no need to build extra overhead electricity pylons. Only 1% of the windfarm land will be needed for building purposes; the remaining 99% will remain as moorland. The total cost is £56 million, about 25% of which will be spent locally. Up to 65 people will be employed in the construction work and 5 people will be employed once the turbines are operational, in maintenance work on the site. With an installed capacity of 62.5 MW the windfarm will be capable of supplying sufficient electricity to supply the annual domestic needs of 45,000 people from a clean and sustainable energy source. The windfarm will be built and operated by the Moorland Renewable Energy Company (MREC) which is a privately owned wind energy company specialising in the planning and development of renewable energy facilities. The windfarm is situated within the administrative boundaries of the Cardington District Council. The land is currently open moorland used by farmers to graze sheep in the summer months. Two public rights of way cross the proposed site and one of these is heavily used by walkers going from the village of Appleton up onto the moor and into the National Park. Surveys have been carried out to check whether the proposed windfarm is likely to cause problems (noise, danger, pollution, etc) and no major negative effects have been recorded. Since the plans were made public, two groups have declared their opposition to the plans and they have stated that they will oppose the windfarm when the public enquiry begins in two months’ time. The first group is the Appleton Anti-Windfarm Group (AAWG) which consists mostly of people living close to the proposed windfarm. The second group is the No Windfarms Alliance (NWA), a national organisation which organises protests against all windfarm proposals that are located close to National Parks or AONBs. AAWG are already raising funds to pay for an anti-windfarm website and for posters and leaflets. The NWA is giving the local people advice on the best way to protest effectively. To the city N Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). Although many windfarms are now in full production, a few of those that were planned have actually been refused planning permission, eg Lamerton, Devon (2004). It is likely, however, that in the next 20–30 years many more will be built. Is this the right decision? What do you think? Let’s have a closer look at an imaginary plan for a windfarm (based on a real plan submitted in 2005). Lower Baxted Appleton Upper Baxted Windfarm To Baxbury National Park 0 Baxted Moor 1 km Key Turbines Access tracks Railway Road Footpath Woodland Land over 250 m Figure 6: Proposed windfarm at Baxted Moor Series 18 Autumn issue Unit 361 Wind Energy – the Way Forward? © 2006 Nelson Thornes This page may be photocopied for use within the purchasing institution only. GeoActive Online Page 3 of 4 Activities 1 Draw a labelled bar graph to show the percentage of electricity produced by gas, coal, nuclear and renewable energy in the UK. 2 How important is wind energy in the UK at present? 1 Alison Parkinson – Solicitor (AGAINST) Alison has lived in Appleton all her life. She has a husband and two small sons. She commutes to work in the city. She thinks windfarms are ugly and noisy. 2 George Barker – Farmer (UNSURE) George grazes sheep on Baxted Moor and keeps a herd of 75 dairy cattle on his farm just outside Appleton. 3 Describe two problems linked to using fossil fuels to make our electricity. 4 What did the UK agree to when it signed the Kyoto Agreement? 5 Nuclear energy produces no pollution. Why don’t we build more nuclear power stations in the UK? 3 David Grafton – Electrician (AGAINST) David lives in the nearby hamlet of Lower Baxted. He is a keen birdwatcher and often walks up on the Moor. 4 Emily Laidler – Councillor (UNSURE) Emily lives in Appleton and was elected to the Cardington District Council in 2001. Emily is an environmental campaigner. She is concerned about the problems of global warming but is also very protective of the National Park. 6 Why is it not a good thing to depend on importing large amounts of fossil fuels from areas such as the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, etc)? 7 Instead of wind energy, we could use solar energy, wave energy, tidal energy, biomass energy or geothermal energy. Why do you think the government has decided to support wind energy as the main form of renewable energy in the UK? 8 Decision making exercise – Baxted Moor windfarm Divide into pairs or small groups to represent the views of the following people, who all have different opinions about the planned windfarm at Baxted Moor (Figure 7). The plans for the windfarm are going to be debated at a public enquiry. Each pair or group should prepare a short speech for the public enquiry. You could appoint a chairperson to give a final decision after listening carefully to all the speeches. You could also prepare posters, a PowerPoint presentation or a protest website to support your point of view. GeoActive Online Page 4 of 4 5 Richard Woodley – Manager at MREC (FOR) Richard used to live in Appleton but moved away to the city to find work and has now returned as manager of the energy company that is planning to build the windfarm. He believes very strongly in the benefits of wind energy. 6 Susan Thompson – Journalist (UNSURE) Susan lives locally and has taken a strong interest in the plans – she intends to sell the story to several local (and possibly some national) newspapers. 7 Pavan Plarha – shopkeeper (FOR) Pavan runs a small, successful shop in Appleton but is keen to see more visitors to the village. He believes that wind energy is an exciting new development and that people will come to the village to see the windfarm. Figure 7: For and against the proposed windfarm Series 18 Autumn issue Unit 361 Wind Energy – the Way Forward? © 2006 Nelson Thornes This page may be photocopied for use within the purchasing institution only.
